Netflix signs deal for new series with 'Arrested Development' creator

Netflix announced "Arrested Development" creator Mitch Hurwitz will develop new shows for the streaming service.

Story highlights

Netflix signs a multiyear deal with Mitch Hurwitz

The "Arrested Development" creator will produce a new series for the streaming service

This is the company's first "writer-producer deal"

No word on further "Arrested Development" episodes or a movie

Whether or not Netflix orders more episodes of "Arrested Development," the streaming service will remain in business with the show's creator, Mitch Hurwitz.

Netflix announced a deal Tuesday to have Hurwitz come up with new shows, which means another oddball comedy might be on the way. It was described as a multiyear deal.

Netflix has commissioned a number of original shows before, including "Orange is the New Black" and "Hemlock Grove."

But until now, it has not struck what Hollywood studios sometimes call "writer-producer deals" with individual creators. A Netflix spokeswoman confirmed that the arrangement with Hurwitz is a first for the company.

The deal comes nearly a year after Netflix resurrected "Arrested," a comedy series that the Fox network had canceled several years earlier. Netflix ordered a 15-episode fourth season, executive-produced by Hurwitz, and premiered them all at once in May 2013.

New to Netflix in April 40 photos

New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Netflix has added even more streaming options for the month of April, including season one of the FX comedy series "Legit," starring DJ Qualls, left, Jim Jefferies and Dan Bakkedahl. Here are some of the other offerings.

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New to Netflix in April – The 2013 film "Peeples" stars Kerry Washington and Craig Robinson as a couple seeking her family's approval of their engagement.

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New to Netflix in April – "The Dirties" is a 2013 independent film that stars Matt Johnson and Owen Williams as a pair of high school friends who take on the bullies in their school.

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New to Netflix in April – The 2013 independent film "G.B.F." is also known as "Gay Best Friend." The comedy shows what happens when the most popular girls in school link up with a recently outed classmate.

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Channing Tatum, left, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson star in the 2013 action film "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," a sequel to the 2009 movie "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra."

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New to Netflix in April – The epic History Channel miniseries "The Bible" found great success during its run in 2013.

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Season 1 of CNN's "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" will leave you hungry. You have been warned.

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Cartoon Network's popular animate series "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" has devout fans who will be happy with the arrival of season 2 as a streaming option.

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – James Franco and Travis Mathews star as themselves in the docufilm "Interior. Leather Bar." The pair also directed the project about trying to re-create deleted footage from the 1980 film "Cruising."

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – "R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour" is a series based on the 2007 film "R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It."

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson star in the 2006 film "Scoop," which was directed by Woody Allen.

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Channing Tatum, center, is a young Roman soldier in the 2011 film "The Eagle."

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Robert De Niro is the patriarch of a murderous clan in the 2013 dark comedy "The Family."

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Michael Bent and Will Smith, right, star in the 2001 biopic "Ali."

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Tom Hanks, right, plays the coach of a team in the women's professional baseball league in the 1992 film "A League of Their Own."

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – The 1997 historical film "Amistad" tackles the issue of slavery. The Steven Spielberg-directed epic was critically acclaimed.

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Fox's animated series "Bob's Burgers" will make you hungry for more comedy.

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – It's easy to see why Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" continues to thrill audiences. The 1995 film earned 10 Academy Award nominations.

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New to Netflix in April – Jack Nicholson stars in the Roman Polanski-directed neo-noir 1974 classic "Chinatown."

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New to Netflix in April – "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" from 1977 remains a sci-fi favorite.

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New to Netflix in April – "The Coneheads" is one of several "spin-offs" from "Saturday Night Live." The film about a family of aliens was released in 1993.

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New to Netflix in April – Director Ang Lee won kudos for 2000's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," which features actress Michelle Yeoh.

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New to Netflix in April – A pair of families lives intersect in the 1997 movie "Inventing the Abbotts."

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – The 1995 film "Jumanji," about a board game that comes to life, spun off an animated TV series.

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Ryan Gosling has an unusual love affair in the 2007 movie "Lars and the Real Girl."

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New to Netflix in April – "Mean Girls" from 2004. Watch it. It will change your life. Enough said.

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Sylvester Stallone, left, takes on Carl Weathers in the ring in the 1976 classic "Rocky."

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New to Netflix in April – The TV movie version of "Steel Magnolias" boasting an African American cast was released in 2012.

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New to Netflix in April – The 1996 film "The English Patient," starring Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas, is based on a critically acclaimed novel.

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New to Netflix in April – Emmanuelle Seigner stars in the 2007 French film "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."

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New to Netflix in April – "Scary Movie 3" from 2003 is part of a very successful franchise that parodies horror movies.

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New to Netflix in April – Yes, this one looks familiar. The 1997 blockbuster film "Titanic" is back streaming on Netflix.

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New to Netflix in April – The 2013 sci-fi "The Last Days on Mars" is a thriller.

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Blink and you may have missed the 2000 crime drama "The Yards" with a cast including Joaquin Phoenix. Now is your chance to catch up.

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New to Netflix in April – Before you check out the latest Muppets movie, enjoy "The Muppets Take Manhattan" from 1984.

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New to Netflix in April40 photos

New to Netflix in April – Pierce Brosnan brings the suave in 1999's "The Thomas Crown Affair."

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New to Netflix in April – Before there was the TV series, there was the 1968 film "The Odd Couple" starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, right. Trivia alert: The film was based on a hit play.

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New to Netflix in April – If you didn't get to watch the 2009 TV series "Royal Pains" when it was airing, now's your chance.

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New to Netflix in April – Hugh Laurie gained a cult following as a less-than-likeable doctor in the television series "House," which ran on Fox from 2004 to 2012.

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New to Netflix in April – The 2014 TV series "Short Poppies" is a mockumentary set in New Zealand.

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Since then, there's been speculation about whether Netflix will order a fifth season or help finance the long-talked-about "Arrested Development" movie. The company said nothing about that on Tuesday. Its news release said Hurwitz would "produce, develop and create new original series for Netflix."

Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, called Hurwitz "a true genius with one of the most distinctive voices in comedy today." And Hurwitz returned the praise, calling it "incredibly inspiring to get to produce for Netflix, a company that not only doesn't resist change, but is leaps and bounds ahead of everyone in forging it."

Hurwitz concluded his statement with a joke: "The fact that I'm also getting one month of their streaming right to my TV or Xbox free ... well, it really takes the sting out of buying that Xbox."